Translation

Concerning: Article about the Twelve Tribes: “Four children stay with the foster families” in the FLZ from 16 June 2015: Children without parents

“I do not want to be misunderstood as someone promoting beating children but the article about the children of “Twelve Tribes” did shock me. The justice refers to the law of “banning violence from child rearing” and the right of the child to a “violent-free child rearing”. Obviously for the justice it is a “violent-free” measure to destroy families. This is a pretty perverse interpretation of the term “violence”. The parents must now live without their children, according to the article.

“Worse still is that the children now have to live without their parents. For children it is probably the greatest catastrophe of their life and a traumatization that they will probably never get rid off anymore. And that for reasons of “the child’s welfare”. Unbelievable.

“At least one should consider that the famous “discipline with rods” actually is being promoted in the Bible and that not only in one place. Consequently, the Bible would have to be forbidden as a writing to incite the masses.”

Ulrich Mayr, Ansbach

(Letter to the editor from “Frankischen Landeszeitung Ansbach”)

For the concerned children the situation concretely looks like this:

The first child of a young couple, a one-and-a-half year old boy, was taken almost two years ago from his parents even though there was no indication at all that they ever disciplined him. The court withdrew custody from the parents permanently only based on their religious conviction!

Their “Open Letter to the Judge at the Family Court of Ansbach” is translated at the post, “A Young Family in Court.”

Two twin girls cannot live anymore with their parents even though also with them there was no indication of an endangerment. There are only apprehensions that the parents will discipline them in the future because they believe in the Bible.

Since almost two years the children wish to return back to their parents. Both set of parents have sent in the meanwhile complaints at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe and hope for a favorable decision.

FOREF—”On September 5th, 2013, in the early dawn, around 30 police emergency vehicles pulled into Klosterzimmern, the property of the “Twelve Tribes” in Nördlingen, Bavaria. Since on that day the community was keeping a holiday1, the morning gathering, which usually would be at 6 o’clock, took place later and most community members were still sleeping. A 23-year-old brother in faith who was milking the cows shortly after 6 o’clock, was the first one to see the massive presence of police. He asked the officers what was going on and asked for a search warrant. Rather than showing it to him, they threatened to arrest him if he “continued to resist.” The police surrounded the entire property only to storm the celebration hall where they were suspecting the morning gathering. Instead they found an empty hall.”

A most threatening and blood-curdling effect

“Shortly after, the inhabitants of every house on the property were woken from their sleep. The officers ordered the completely perplexed community members to gather in one of the living rooms. According to their own words the more than 100 officers equipped with battledress, truncheons, and pistols had a most threatening and blood-curdling effect on parents and children alike.”

Police and Jugendamt at Klosterzimmern. Miriam Stark and her sister.

No evidence found

“Since the members of the “Twelve Tribes” had insisted on seeing a search warrant, this was faxed in at 8 o’clock. After the children had been led away, the police was searching for evidence on site in order to subsequently justify the order to seize the children by the Jugendamt.

Background to the Raid

The background of the large-scale operation: On August 16th, 2013, Sabine Rieder, the “sect commissioner” of Sekten-Info NRW2 along with the RTL reporter Wolfram Kuhnigk got the District Court of Nördlingen involved in order to take action against the “Twelve Tribes.” Shortly before, a local head of a Jugendamt also was initiated into the operation.

“As early as two weeks later, on September 1st, the District Court decided to have the children of the religious community in Klosterzimmern and in Wörnitz taken by means of a police raid and put into state care.”

Sabine Riede – Protestant „Sect Expert“ and FECRIS Member.

“Even though there was no evidence proving sustainable physical or psychological damage in the children of the religious community, interim custody was collectively transferred from the parents to the Jugendamt. After all, the authorities preferred to rely on an anonymous report of a supposed ex-member that Kuhnigk(!) mailed in August 2013 and which was published on the website of Sekten-Info NRW, rather than on careful sociological studies about the religious community of the “Twelve Tribes”.

Yom Teruah, the Day of Shouting or Day of Trumpets (September 4, 2013) ↩

Professor Susan Palmer’s affidavit to the court is quoted in that post about a so-called “sekt (cult) expert” and her use of anonymous accusations in her report to the court. The user is Klaudia Hartmann of the Catholic Diocese of Augsburg. However, they are used because they accomplish the overall goal of presenting “cult stereotypes”. This is what sells.

From the affadavit of Susan Palmer:

“Third, Klaudia Hartmann declares that the members of the Twelve Tribes do not go to doctors or give their children medical treatments, and mentions the cross-eyed twins. (Pingen case) Again, she has not done her research properly. It is true that while some of the Tribes members have health insurance, most do not (they are in the process of forming their own insurance company) but from this she infers that they also reject modern medicine. This is not true. The Tribes have always made a policy of consulting local doctors, and taking members to hospital if necessary. Marc Pingen submitted a stack of medical bills to the court to prove that he had frequently consulted doctors. His cross-eyed daughters have been wearing the alternating patch over the eye, which is the standard treatment for their condition. Despite these facts, and plenty of evidence, there is a pervasive myth in anti-cult circles that parents refuse medical treatment for their children. Many have had necessary operations.”

Let us consider that the Jugendamt already knew and approved of the treatment. What does it mean that still, in spite of that, the slander goes before the judge and into his records? We must note that this is how it has consistently gone against us.

As this post points out, these are quotes from official reports of visits to our homes and the very favorable impressions made on the Jugendamt workers by our children and their loving parents.

Translation:

Yesterday morning I visited the twins. They were drawing and playing around. It is conspicuous that both of the twins are physically and linguistically very well advanced already. Both have a great desire to communicate, which leads sometimes to a tumble of words. Their motor skills, e.g. upon drawing, are advanced well ahead. Therefore I have not noticed any abnormalities. Both twins are cross-eyed. But this has been treated by the parents already. The eye doctor prescribed an eye patch on one eye to be used off and on. This has been applied there by the parents for both of them. The parents Pingen are worried, if this is continuously being done by the foster family.

Translation:

When they were squabbling, it was noticeable, that quickly without hard words, a simple solution was able to be found (it was about a sharpener).

Translation:

No Delay of development or other deficits did I observe in any way. Both girls are also very open and easy to get excited, are well concentrated, e.g. upon drawing or laying a puzzle.

The twins are very receptive and life-loving. They are now barely four years old. Both of them have an expansive vocabulary and well developed fine and gross motor skills. I could detect no physical or spiritual deficits.

Translation:

As described concerning the… children their lingual understanding and general vocabulary seems to be above their age average. According to…. Both of them are already able to write down the ABC.

The children in question

Here are the twins, and some friends, in a photo taken a year ago.

From left to right: Shalomah and Shamah (Hennigfeld children), Shelevah and Ma’aminah (Pingen children).

In conclusion

So those who present typical cult stereotypes of us do not even bother or know or care that what they say has already been contradicted by government agencies. They do not care because their mission is accomplished by presenting those stereotypes, whether they have any truth in them or not. That is why they countenance anonymous reports, which could be written by anyone. There is a saying about money, in regards to the uncontrolled desire to have something: “Money is no object.”

With us, with the Twelve Tribes, it is more and more apparent that “the truth is no object.” When this attitude takes over elected officials, jurists, and social service workers, it is the ugly reality of religious persecution. It is evidence of an uncontrolled desire to destroy. But since 5 September 2013 has that ever been in question?

The Spirit of the Age

Recently we quoted a pagan Roman emperor named Trajan who directed one of his governors to accept no anonymous testimony, as they “set a bad precedent” and “are not in the spirit of our age.” It seems that German courts and social services view anonymous reports as setting a good precedent and in keeping with the spirit of this age.1

Anonymous reports could be written by anyone; their authorship can not be scrutinized for malice and prejudice.

Are such fundamentally flawed reports now acceptable? Where the truth is no issue, anonymous reports are acceptable. This is the case with these cult expects and painfully, it seems, with the courts who receive them as “expert witnesses.” They know nothing about the Twelve Tribes, but they are “credible” witnesses about them. Why is that?

When we have referred to lies about us by anti-cult experts, and their reports which are received by the courts as “evidence” about the Twelve Tribes, we mean statements such as these by Klaudia Hartmann from the Augsburg Catholic Diocese (who testified against the parents of Wörnitz at the September 13, 2013 court hearing). Her manifold errors were chronicled by Professor Susan Palmer in her affidavit to the courts.

(1) “Klaudia Hartmann writes that her expert opinion is based on internet research, writings and interviews with ex-members who remain anonymous. But her portrait of the Twelve Tribes is full of errors. First, she gets their theology/eschatology totally wrong when she writes the Tribes have a “dualistic” view of the world and that everyone who does not join them will be consigned to the Lake of Fire. She obviously has not bothered to read the article “The Three Eternal Destinies” posted on the Twelve Tribes website that shows they believe in three fates for humanity. Thus, the “righteous servants” etc., who are not members but are well-intentioned people, will go to a third place called the “nations” (rather like the Mormon’s “three degrees of glory” in which the “righteous” are relegated to the “terrestrial” kingdom, as opposed to the “filthy and unjust” who will end up in the “telestial” kingdom). Any ex-member could have told Klaudia Hartmann that. So, in this respect, the Twelve Tribes are less “black and white” or “dualistic” than many Protestant denominations, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses—or even the Catholic Church with its policy of extra ecclesiam nulla salus (outside the church no salvation).

(2) “Second, Hartmann speaks of the Tribes’ sectarian nature; she claims that no outsiders are permitted to visit their community, except for potential converts. She has obviously never visited their communities, where it is very common to see relatives or friends of members at supper times or at the gatherings (minchas). For example, I recently met the mother of the man in the Czech Republic who had joined and contributed his farm to the community. His mother has no intention of joining, but visits every weekend to see her son and grandchildren. The Tribes also invite their clients from their solar panel “industry” or customers at the marketplace, or clients they deal with as building/carpentry contractors to come and see their way of life. Many of my colleagues, professors in the U.S., have visited the Tribes and taken their classes on field trips to their communities in California and New England.

(3) “Third, Klaudia Hartmann declares that the members of the Twelve Tribes do not go to doctors or give their children medical treatments, and mentions the cross-eyed twins. (Pingen case) Again, she has not done her research properly. It is true that while some of the Tribes members have health insurance, most do not (they are in the process of forming their own insurance company) but from this she infers that they also reject modern medicine. This is not true. The Tribes have always made a policy of consulting local doctors, and taking members to hospital if necessary. Marc Pingen submitted a stack of medical bills to the court to prove that he had frequently consulted doctors. His cross-eyed daughters have been wearing the alternating patch over the eye, which is the standard treatment for their condition. Despite these facts, and plenty of evidence, there is a pervasive myth in anti-cult circles that parents refuse medical treatment for their children. Many have had necessary operations.

(4) “Another example is that of the eight-year-old boy who has diabetes and was taken from his parents at the second raid on December 9, 2013. (Hennigfeld) The social workers, in their haste to remove the child, refused to accept the mother’s detailed instructions regarding his care. As a result, his blood sugar fluctuated in a dangerous manner and he was admitted to hospital. His father complains that at the institution where his son resides he is fed a poor diet; canned or micro-waved instant food, in contrast to the healthy bio-organic food he was fed in the community, and that his blood sugar is deliberately kept slightly high so as to avoid the dangers of low blood sugar, and his caretakers ignore the long-term debilitating effects (blindness, kidney failure, amputations, etc.) of ongoing high blood sugar for diabetic patients.2 His mother was able to monitor his blood sugar in a sensitive, caring way, and to administer his insulin and prepare his food so as to protect her son’s health and well-being at an intimate level that is not possible in a state institution.”

(5) “The Tribes do contribute to society and have cooperative relationships with their local communities. They offer charity to homeless and sick people who are not prospective members. To give an example, Professor Timothy Miller from University of Kansas told me how he was visiting the Tribes in the early Spring of 1995, when the police arrived in the middle of their evening gathering and asked them if they could take care of a homeless man for the night. He had arrived at the police station and begged for accommodation, but they did not have the facilities. The Tribes agreed, and the man spent a comfortable night and left after breakfast. This indicates that often local authorities recognize the Twelve Tribes as providing services and charity to their local secular societies. I met the father of a member in Klosterzimmern who was fatally ill from cancer and had no one else to care for him, so he had been taken in by the Tribes. Many communal groups refuse to allow unproductive people, the sick or elderly, to visit or to join, such as the famous Twin Oaks community that will not accept anyone over 60. The Tribes, however, has permitted elderly relatives of members to move in, as well as people with disabilitie. For example, I met a one-eyed man with slurred speech from a stroke, complicated by unsuccessful surgery, who blows the shofar at the Klosterzimmern community. These facts contradict the stereotypical portrait of the manipulative “sekte” that preys on and manipulates gullible members.”

In sum:

“As a social scientist and experienced researcher who teaches courses on research methods, I find it quite astonishing and a wholly insufficient basis to warrant judicial reliance that the very serious decision on whether to award the custody of the children of the Twelve Tribes to the state or to the biological parents should be based on the writings of “sekte experts” like Klaudia Hartmann of the Catholic Diocese, Sabine Riede of Sekten-Info Nordrhein-Westfalen, and Reverend Dr. Wolfgang Behnk of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria.

“Having read their writings on the Twelve Tribes I can say with confidence that they reveal their ignorance, sloppy, irresponsible approach to social scientific research, and a value-laden, biased, stereotypical “anti-cult” view of so-called “sektes”.

“In my expert opinion I find their claimed knowledge of the Twelve Tribes to be unreliable because it is inaccurate and not based upon first-hand knowledge and study, which is required to be qualified as an expert in a given field. I have been qualified as an expert in religious studies before, and specifically as a scholar of the Twelve Tribes’ Communities.”

Yes, the age that is coming on the earth—the age of Isaiah 5:20 where good is called evil and evil is called good. ↩

Why are psychologists franticly trying to prove attachment disorders where there are none? Was there any evidence for abuse? It should be clear that disciplinary action is not to be mistaken for abuse.

There is no evidence of child abuse in the children of the Twelve Tribes:

“ANSBACH / Wörnitz – The Ansbach prosecutor has apparently stopped the investigation against the parents of ten children of the controversial sect “Twelve Tribes” from the Middle Franconian of Wörnitz. As the Bavarian Radiostation reported on Tuesday, there are, according to the investigators, ‘no concrete evidence of the mistreatment of wards.’ ” (January 14, 2014)

Despite the findings of the prosecutor’s office and medical officers, the children are still being held in state custody. The law, however, dictates that an injunction should be repealed immediately, if it is determined that no danger of abuse is found.

Will there be a need for court-appointed psychologists now to invent evidence, as in the case Mollath?

Here are a few documented observations of people involved in the investigations within the first hour, proving that no traces of ill-treatment in children were noted:

Translation:

“…saw during the shower the bottom of the two children, yet there were no signs of marks or stripes visible. Mrs. … was asked to present both children to the pediatrician at the latest 9/10/2013.”

Translation:

“…was accompanied to the pediatrician, and in both children no abnormality was found. In case of the baby, the head was not exactly in straight position. This was not judged as damage, since it can be reverted by changing the position (belly) of the infant.”

Even with previous studies no traces of abuse ever found:

Translation:

7/12/2010
Official medical investigations are taking place for all the children in the school of Klosterzimmern. All Examinations so far showed no abnormalities.
8/17/2010
Visit at the parent’s home. Child sleeping, it was not swaddled.

The other children present gave the impression of being well taken care of and developed according to age.

… present boy was strong and healthy and was being nursed during the visitation.”

Translation:

“SG 54 Bah
Protocol of the results of the communication between Mr. Herrschner (chief of Jugendamt), Mrs. Bahlo (District social services) and Joshua Tlapak on 5/15/2013 in the office for Youth and Family of the District Office.

Mr. Tlapak explains, that at the moment he represents all the families with minor children living in the community in Woernitz, since only he himself with his children and his brother with his wife and children are residing there presently. He said, Mr. Noah Tlapak (brother) has ordered him to represent his interest also during this dialog. Concerning Family Remmache and Lopez, so he said, he functions now as contact person for the youth office.

Translation:

2. Concerning the health care for the children of the community Mr. Tlapak explains that the necessary medical treatments are being taken advantage of.
Mr. Tlapak is going to send receipts of the recent medical treatments of his children by e-mail.
3. Mr. Herrschner and Mrs. Bahlo notice, that there are no concrete indicators for an endangering of the child welfare concerning the children living in the community of the “Twelve Tribes” in Woernitz. Therefore, so they say, there are no legal grounds for further investigations by the office for youth and family.

Translation:

Mr. Tlapak explains, that the members of the “Twelve Tribes” in Woernitz no longer tolerate routine checking by the Jugendamt. An agreement is made, that the office for Youth and Family will address directly the concerned family in each particular situation.

Further on Mr. Tlapak will be available as contact person for the Office for Youth and Family. He said he would be available at any time by e-mail, even if he might be at work or out of the country.

The children are usually very well developed and promoted even higher than the average age:

Translation:

Yesterday morning I visited the twins. They were drawing and playing around. It is conspicuous that both of the twins are physically and linguistically very well advanced already. Both have a great desire to communicate, which leads sometimes to a tumble of words. Their motor skills, e.g. upon drawing, are advanced well ahead. Therefore I have not noticed any abnormalities. Both twins are cross-eyed. But this has been treated by the parents already. The eye doctor prescribed an eye patch on one eye to be used off and on. This has been applied there by the parents for both of them. The parents Pingen are worried, if this is continuously being done by the foster family.

Translation:

When they were squabbling, it was noticeable, that quickly without hard words, a simple solution was able to be found (it was about a sharpener).

Translation:

No Delay of development or other deficits did I observe in any way.

Both girls are also very open and easy to get excited, are well concentrated, e.g. upon drawing or laying a puzzle.

The twins are very receptive and life-loving. They are now barely four years old. Both of them have an expansive vocabulary and well developed fine and gross motor skills. I could detect no physical or spiritual deficits.

Translation:

As described concerning the… children their lingual understanding and general vocabulary seems to be above their age average. According to…. Both of them are already able to write down the ABC.

One of the claims, namely, that our children would hardly be viable in society, is still being attached to us to stubbornly:

Translation:

“The right of free development of personality is being disturbed by Isolating the children and youths, both in their relationships towards the outside world and within the community.

“The children are being forced into a role of outsiders. The socialization of a young person into an independent, responsible member of our society is almost impossible within this structure. The future is inevitably, as confirmed by witnesses, fixed on a life within the community, he will not or only with difficulty be able to find his way in society.”

Oddly, however, no one has taken the trouble, even to look at the young adults who have grown up in the Community, how viable they have become.

The fact is that many of the grown-up children of the community even take over our farms and the management of our company and are highly appreciated by our business partners.

Why are the courts picking only such one-sided information concerning the community?

There are also enough other sources, such as people who know us personally that would convey a different picture, but these were never previously considered as witnesses!

Is this really about the truth of the children’s welfare, or what is really the intention behind all this?

Here are the twins spoken of above, in a picture taken a year to a year and a half ago, before they were in captivity.

From left to right: Shalomah and Shamah (Levi’s children), Shelevah and Ma’aminah (Marc’s children).